ABU Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) has launched a destination promotion office in New Delhi led by Indian travel industry veteran Bejan Dinshaw and his team who will cover the entire market, with also dedicated MICE and PR representations.

“We have been getting the pulse of the Indian market via roadshows and participation in trade fairs (over the past two years),” said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, international promotions manager, TCA Abu Dhabi. “We have reaped dividends from our ‘toe in the water’ approach with India now being our second largest overseas market for hotel guests after the UK.”

From January to November 2012, 125,180 Indian guests stayed in Abu Dhabi’s hotels and hotel apartments – a 30 per cent year-on-year increase – and accounted for 496,581 guest nights, a 34 per cent year-on-year rise. Indian guests stay an average of four nights in Abu Dhabi.

Al Nuaimi added that India would play a key role in assisting Abu Dhabi attain its 2013 target of 2.5 million hotel guests, and was likely to be the emirate’s largest overseas source market for hotel guests in 2014.

TCA Abu Dhabi, along with its trade partner Lama Tours, is currently leading an industry delegation on a roadshow promotion across five Indian cities, including New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. The inaugural promotion in Ahmedabad is aimed at leveraging Etihad Airways’ recently launched Abu Dhabi-Ahmedabad daily service.

TCA Abu Dhabi and a delegation will also attend SATTE 2013 in New Delhi later this month.

Said Kulwant Singh, managing director of Lama Tours, which recently opened a dedicated office in Abu Dhabi city: “The prospects are excellent with the Abu Dhabi product (segment) maturing. The leisure offering in particular will be given a major boost later this month when the much-anticipated Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi – the UAE’s largest waterpark – opens on the entertainment hub of Yas Island.”

“We see potential in the leisure sector as well as within the weddings and MICE segments,” he added.